This time, like so many of those other times in the last several years when America has been jolted by mass shootings, the tragedy visited a quiet place.

The New York Times described Squirrel Hill, where Saturday’s synagogue shooting took place, as “a quiet, middle-class neighborhood in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community.”

A quiet place, a quiet neighborhood, quiet, quiet, quiet – until gunfire shattered the quiet and more innocents were killed by a disturbed man with a gun, an act that’s being described as a hate crime.

“We must all pray and hope for no more loss of life,” said Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolfe. “But we have been saying ‘this one is too many’ for far too long. Dangerous weapons are putting our citizens in harm’s way.”

I know the governor means well, but we have heard those words so many times before.

They ring loud and clear, as gun shots themselves, but they are meaningless. They are just more noise because powers that be in Washington are tone-deaf on the issue.

They don’t care how many bullets were spent, or how many people died, or whether anti-Semitism was a motive.

They have pledged their fealty, you see, given their souls, to the gun-makers and the gun lobby. They have bought their lies, time after time after time.

And, most likely, they will again this time.

This time was the Tree of Life Congregation.

This time was a hate crime.

This time was Pittsburgh.

This time, like the others, was awful and sad and scary.

This time. This time. This time.

This is our time in America.

Bruce Lowry is the editorial page editor for The (Bergen County, N.J.) Record, where this column first appeared. You can follow him on Twitter: @BruceLowry21.